Top 40 Pop Albums of the 2000s

It would not be anyone's first guest that a group of teenagers from Franklin, Tennessee would produce one of the top pop punk albums of the decade. However, that is just what the group Paramore did. Their breakthrough album Riot! is all brash fire and great songwriting. It clawed its way to #15 on the album while being certified platinum and generating the top 40 pop single "Misery Business." The success resulted in a Best New Artist Grammy Award nomination for the band.

U2's lead vocalist Bono refers to this as the band's first true rock album. The topic of the album is nothing less than the world at the crossroads of its existence. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb swept to the top of the album chart and sold over three million copies. It won a total of nine Grammy Awards in two years including Album of the Year and Song of the Year for "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." The single "Vertigo" reached the top 3 on the pop singles chart, the first U2 single in seven years to do that.

Underground dance artist turned mainstream pop success M.I.A. brought a unique point of view from her Asian background into the pop arena. Her second album, named after her mother, was based on her mother's struggles in life. It was hailed by critics as one of the top albums in 2007, and then it found a wider audience when the single "Paper Planes" became a top five pop hit. The album then climbed into the top 20. "Paper Planes" was recognized with a Grammy Awards nomination for Record of the Year.

John Mayer's first two studio albums were significant successes reaching the top 10 and producing three top 20 pop singles among them. For his third he turned in a more blues-oriented direction. The song "Waiting On the World to Change" indicated a more thoughtful, expansive lyrical approach as well. Continuum reached #2 on the album chart and was certified double platinum. The album was named the Best Pop Vocal Album by the Grammy Awards.

The temporary dissolution of Pink's marriage seemed to be the catalyst for the most successful album of her career thus far. Funhouse is firmly in a pop-rock vein with reflective moments that reveal Pink's sensitivity and depth as a performer. It included her first #1 pop single "So What" and two more top 20 pop hits. The album itself just missed hitting the top landing at #2.

Missy Elliott and Timbaland created some of the most innovative hip hop and pop sounds of the decade. Here they brought in touches from old school rap to round out their unique way of building music together. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart and sold over two million copies in the US alone. The singles "Work It" and "Gossip Folks" hit the pop top 10, and the album was nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year.

The Black Eyed Peas decided to move in a distinctly more electronic and futuristic direction with their album The E.N.D.. The result was one of the feel good albums of the decade and a chart smash. The band owned the top of the pop singles chart for an unprecedented six consecutive months with the album's first two singles "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling." The album itself reached #1 and was certified platinum.

Gwen Stefani initially set out to work on just a small side project away from her band No Doubt. It eventually resulted in this first solo studio album. Love, Angel, Music, Baby celebrates influences from 80's pop. The album only reached #5 on the charts, but it generated four top 40 pop singles and turned Gwen Stefani into a solo star. The Grammy Awards honored the set with six nominations.

Producer Danger Mouse and R&B singer and rapper Cee-Lo got together as a project they called Gnarls Barkley. The first single, the minimalist slightly retro soul of "Crazy" became one of the biggest hit singles of the decade in the UK and peaked at #2 in the US. It was critically celebrated as one of the top songs of the year. The album itself was praised for its innovative approach to pop. The album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music and received nominations for Album of the Year and Record of the Year. It hit #4 on the US album chart and sold over a million copies.

Avril Lavigne was only 17 years old when she knocked the pop music world on its ear with her debut album Let Go. The album almost didn't come to fruition due to a number of false starts with a wide range of top production and songwriting talent hired by Lavigne's label Arista. Finally, a positive connection with the production team the Matrix helped bring the album together. Avril Lavigne was praised for being able to move comfortably from adult sounding ballads like "I'm With You" to the pop punk of "Sk8er Boi." Let Go and its first single "Complicated" were #1 smash hits. It was certified six times platinum and picked up eight Grammy Award nominations over a two year period.